Friday, 27 November 2015

This week we've been running round London as well as questioning the future of the British design industry...

Is British design dead?As technology evolves, with new gadgets being released every week, it's not difficult to see the changes between this and that of the industrial revolution. There's been lots of worry over the last decade as to whether British design has disappeared. This view has been backed up often by those looking at public design; many were disappointed by the changes to our iconic British telephone boxes and London buses.

However, perhaps all of this just stems from our reluctance to look elsewhere for design. After all with technology there also comes the added option of working for multiple international companies. This means that lots of British Design is not staying in Britain but going overseas. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. We may be losing British design in Britain itself but it means that we are impacting on the rest of the world and not only that but we are also the hub of international design. Just walking through London proves this, from shop to studio, each and every one is different and very few are British.

We may be proud to be British but we are also proud at how open we are to incorporating international design into our lifestyle. Nomique is a fantastic example of this, not only do we have British designers creating all of our product ranges, as well as all of our furniture and seating being created on site in Britain using traditional manufacturing techniques. We also partner all of this with European design inspiration, European Suppliers and up to date technology. By using everything available to us we are holding on to our heritage as well as helping to evolve the manufacture of seating. To read more about us and our product ranges please have a look at our website.

If you'd like to read more about others views on this topic we found some very interesting articles which you'll find by following these links:

We were only visiting this year but we went along to see what's new and therefore now avaliable for the hotel and hospitality industry.
Of course we were most interested in the furniture but it was great to see such a wide array of exhibitors, with a great range of free gifts from stress balls to pix & mix and even colouring competitions. After all we're all big kids at heart!

The main trend that flowed throughout the exhibit was solid wood. We saw it everywhere from the solid British Oak frames of the new Knightsbridge armchairs, to Egger's new product PerfectSense that showcases just how good wood based panels and edging can look.

Not only was everything made of wood, or had wooden legs, or had
matching wooden tables but it was also great to see that British
craftsmanship is still a big part of this industry.

We loved the outside of the Byzantium stand with materials and tools splayed out adorning the stand wall, showing furniture manufacture stripped down to it's bare bones.

Overall we saw some great design and manufacturing skills and we hope to join them next year for a bit of friendly competition. After all British furniture manufacture is what we do and we'd like to show everyone how well we do it!

Please go to our website to have a look at how our furniture could transform your hotel, waiting rooms and lounge areas into colourful, classy and contemporary spaces where everyone will want to be.

Our London trip to Sleep didn't end there though,with a third floor the exhibition just seemed to go on and on. The Sleep Sets were fantastic too, inspired by childrens fairytale stories it was great to leave reality behind for a moment and get lost in the art and design of these creative spaces. Our favourites had to be the outdoor bathroom and the golden egg shower!

So we'll leave you with these photographs and the suggestion that you should head on over to London next year for Sleep 2016.

We suggest you have a look at everything they are suggesting but to quickly sum it up there's going to be "skycycle" networks starting in London, glowing cycle paths, spray on reflective paint, sustainable cardboard bikes and clip on bluetooth navigation devices.

Not only this but there is even a new exhibition that's now been opened at London's design Museum to celebrate contemporary bicycle design. We found some great photographs of some of the bikes on Dezeen's website.

Although if you get the chance to see the "High Performers, Thrill Seekers, Urban Riders and Cargo Bikers" up close and personal, we're sure it will be well worth the trip.

So you're probably now wondering but what do bikes have to do with chairs?

It's a good question and something that we've been getting more and more excited about.
Have you seen one of these yet? (view left image)

It's an Markant Oxidesk Bike and there have been very mixed reviews. This article certainly doesn't rate it very highly but it is certainly interesting to see the options that are cropping up in the not so traditional officespaces these days.

Perhaps the Oxidesk really isn't what you're looking for but there are plenty of other options to increase your movement in the workplace. Although perhaps you may feel that cycling to work and back every day is enough exercise. Did you know that sedantry sitting for all the hours you are at work can often cause illnesses such as diabetes, back pain and heart disease. Therefore movement at work is crucial if you wanting to keep fit and healthy.

Standing desks work fantastically with our Axia Smart Chairs. Have a look at our website to see how this chair could work for you or give us a call on 01952 585828 so we can answer any questions you may have about movement in the workplace.

Enzo Mari

Enzo Mari created a manual in 1974 as a guide to building furniture with as few tools and materials as possible.

His furniture is now being reproduced with his permission as a way to teach refugees how to design and build furniture.

This has all happened with support from the CUCULA organisation that also offers general education, assitance with language skills and legal advice for refugees.

There is much more to this story in Dezeen's article as well as lots of photographs of the chairs and their designers.

We thought this was a great story to tell and it's fantastic to see the craft and love that's gone into each one of these chairs.

Solidarity Paris

Design is all around us and is always there when we need something to bring us together.
We's like to thank Jean Jullian for creating the above symbol of peace. Solidarity Paris.

Friday, 13 November 2015

Welcome back to our end of the week Friday blog. We're saying hello to Winter this week as the last of the leaves have fallen from the trees and we're adding layer after layer to keep warm at our desks but what else can we be doing to stay warm this winter...

Staying hot, hot, hot.This week we're looking at movement in the workplace, plus what's hot and what's not when it comes to sit stand workstations.

Firstly we want to give you some great ideas for keeping warm in the office this winter. We are suggesting that you get out your chair and deskercise to keep warm, fit and healthy.

Not heard of deskercising or need some more ideas for your current routine? Then have a look at these top 10 deskercises to get you started.

If you are already a king or queen of deskercise and you're looking for new ways to increase your movement at work, then you might have looked into the trend of sit stand workstations that's getting more and more popular everyday.At Nomique we are getting really excited about this new drive for movement in the workplace.

As a manufacturer of office seating we are constantly looking at ways to make our chairs more movement concious. Our synchro and ISB mechanisms on our task chairs, can both be used in a "free float setting". This helps the user to activate their core muscles and prevents them from sitting too statically.

Furthermore the signal from our Axia Smart Chair can not only be used as a trigger to correct your posture but also as a reminder to work standing up for the next 30 minutes. At Nomique we are always encouraging our users to move as much as possible and if you are interested in any of the above products and would like to know more then please look on our website or give us a call on 01952 585828

Although Nomique do not produce sit stand workstations, our chairs are perfect examples of seating that could be used in conjuntion with them, so we were keen to find out more.

Firstly we looked up the pros and cons of the standing desk concept, to get an idea about the health benefits and the not so beneficial apsects. During our searches we came across this great article from notsitting.com that outlines everything good and everything bad about these standing desks, including ways to make them work better for you.

The main reaction across the web is that standing desks are a fantastic way to lose weight and reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease and bad posture, which are all things we should be scared of if we're sitting at a desk all day.

The funniest part of this article though was seeing people's make shift at home versions. After all who doesn't want a desk made using Coco Cola cans and when all you've got is a plastic box it shows that that will do the job almost as well as the "Ergotron Workfit".

Well perhaps not but we can all hope that one day soon it won't just be Denmark that has made it mandatory for employers to offer standing workstations as an option to all employees, but hopefully the UK will catch on too.

The other question and the one that we find the most interesting is that all of those people who have caught on to the trend of standing at their desks, now don't know what they should be wearing. Standing up means that outfits are on show all of the time, skirts and suit trousers don't get creased and feet start to hurt. So what are our options? Well we found this great article on what to wear by The New York Times, so if you feel like you could use some tips then have a read about what these people in the know have picked out as the best options for standing up and looking good.

"Forest and Found"

Now we've all heard of Upcycling and it's now getting more and more popular across the UK. In fact it's getting so trendy that artists and craftspeople are setting up businesses relying on what they can find in skips!

We came across an article about two homeware entrepreneurs who have set up their own buisness called "Forest and Found" in the heart of London, in their back garden workshop. It's all about using waste wood that they've found on the ground or in bins and turning it into something new and unique.

Friday, 6 November 2015

It's finally Friday! With colourful leaves swirling and falling all around it's definitely Autumn and not only that but it was the 5th of November yesterday so I hope you've all got lots of firework displays and massive bonfires planned for this weekend.

Burning Logs to Firing Questions

Not only have we been getting excited about bonfires and fireworks at Nomique this week but we also couldn't wait any longer to spread the news of the official start of our 2015 student competition.

This week Isobel Coleman from our marketing team went to the University of Wolverhampton to announce the funiture competition to all those passionate creative students studying Interior and Product Design.

The presentation included telling them all about Nomique and introducing the competition design brief. Lots of questions were asked and Isobel felt the students had a very clear idea of what they now need to do to be in with a chance of winning.

With cash prizes for the top three winners, as well as a tour of Nomique for the first prize winner we're sure there will be lots of entrants.

We look forward to telling you more about the competition and the students fantastic design work as we get ever closer to the Wednesday 16th December competition deadline.

It was "National Stress Awareness Day" on Wednesday 4th November and we've been catching up on all things stressful.

Our student competition applicants all have plenty of stress ahead of them but did you know that people don't only suffer from stress during study but that stress also follows people throughout their lives, even into the workplace.

The Mental Health Foundation suggest that there are over 13.3 million working days lost every year, due to stress, depression and anxiety.

It's great to see that National Stress Awareness Day has been trending all across the world on Wednesday as people come together to relate to one another in the form of hashtag expression.

One of the ways for employers to decrease that stress, as mentioned in the article above, is to create break out zones in the workplace, for staff to move away from their desks and communicate with each other. This can help to increase wellbeing and productivity throughout the office.

If you are looking for ideas for those stress free zones then you have come to the right place as Nomique have a huge range of furniture suitable for all types of break out. Check out our website for some inspiration or pick up the phone and dial 01952 585828 to see what we could do for you and your stress.

About Me

At Nomique we deliver innovative, high quality,
British manufactured sustainable seating solutions for the ever evolving
working environment. We are a company to be trusted, for both loyalty and
reliability. We are continually exceeding our customer’s expectations with our
extensive knowledge and experience. Our team believe in going that extra mile
to create the best quality for the most accessible price. Designing with
ergonomics and flexibility in mind, to produce seating to suit you.